Socio-economic resilience through participatory innovation: Evidence from the Sabour agri incubators (SABAGRIs) in eastern India

Socio-economic resilience via SABAGRIs in eastern India

Abstract

Eastern India’s agricultural sector faces intertwined challenges of technological gaps and socio-economic vulnerability, particularly for women. This paper analyzes the Sabour Agri Incubators (SABAGRIs) at Bihar Agricultural University as a participatory model for technological dissemination, evaluating its specific contributions to gender empowerment and livelihood diversification for socio-economic resilience. The study examines SABAGRIs’ institutional framework, including its tiered incubation programs (AOP, SAIP, SOP) and the crucial role of the Bihar Startup Policy 2022. As of 2025, SABAGRIs has supported 133 startups, funding 71 with a sanctioned grant-in-aid of Rs. 831 Lakh. The model’s success in gender empowerment is not merely policy-based but evidenced by the incubation of powerful, women-led enterprises. Case studies of startups like Teknoground Pvt Ltd (agri-machinery, 88% female ownership) and Vishvaksenah Herbs (VHAPLTD) (high-value crops, 51% female ownership) demonstrate tangible success. In FY 2024-25, these two women-led startups alone generated Rs. 1.28 crore in revenue and created 114 new jobs (74 direct, 40 indirect), while securing their own patents. SABAGRIs provides a successful, scalable framework for building socio-economic resilience by intentionally integrating gender-inclusive policies with robust, market-driven incubation, proving that women-led enterprises can be key drivers of technological dissemination and rural economic growth.